A member was injured at work due to heavy equipment being used in a way it wasn’t intended to be used.
The heavy equipment was meant to stay in one place and be wheeled around a room. Instead of purchasing more units, the hospital instructed our members to take them to different floors and parts of the hospital, by themselves, without conducting risk assessments or putting in place proper controls and procedures for the handling of the equipment.
This requirement to move heavy equipment around the hospital resulted in the injury to our member.
They had a successful Workcover claim, however they weren’t getting paid any superannuation on their payments. This means that though the workplace injured them, they were financially disadvantaged at the same time.
Our member stuck it out for over 18 months, against the penny pinching of the public hospital, and did not give up. Knowing their entitlements and supported by the Union, not even the hospital’s lawyers, spreadsheets or insurance companies would turn them away, and still they fought.
Over 18 months of standing firm and fighting for their rights, they got their entitlement. This is why rights matter, and this is why you join the Union.
